Niger - Working conditions

The total labor force in 1998 was estimated at 5 million, of which 44
percent were women. Most children aged 10-14 have to work, and 45
percent of children in this age group were in the labor force. Children
start helping with farm work from as early as 5 years of age. The public
sector employs 39,000 (and is the only significant formal employer),
while small shops and industry account for a few thousand jobs, as does
mining. The rest of the population makes a living in agriculture, on
small family farms, or in herding livestock. Gender disparities are
high: while 41 percent of women work, only 8 percent hold administrative
or managerial positions, and they account for only 8 percent of
professional and technical workers.

The unemployment rate has little meaning in Africa. There are no social
security provisions, and those without work or support from families or
charities cannot survive. For much of the year in
subsistence farming
there is relatively little work to do, and this is shared among the
family members. During planting and harvesting, there is more work to be
done, and everyone is more fully occupied, but even in these periods,
there may be more than enough labor to do the tasks, and the work is
again shared. Since people share the farm work it appears that all of
them have occupations in agriculture, but these workers are not engaged
full time for all the year, and hence there is some "disguised
unemployment." In the urban area those without formal sector jobs
and any family or charitable support survive by casual
hawking
, portering, and scavenging.

The number of people earning regular wages or salaries is 70,000. There
is a formal minimum wage. The government, under IMF pressure, has been
streamlining the civil service, and government employees have lost their
jobs, which will undoubtedly bring the government trade union trouble.

Trade unions in Niger are strong, with around 70 percent of public
sector workers and more than 50 percent in the
private sector
unionized. The unions are militant, and strikes, which often lead to
civil unrest, are not uncommon and have brought down governments. The
present government, much like those of the past, faces much pressure
from the public sector unions, which as well as protesting over pay
arrears, have also opposed privatization, with support from students.